2013-14 Philadelphia Flyers Preview

(Sports Network) - The season which legions of fans and the front office has
been waiting for since April 22, 2012 is finally upon the Philadelphia Flyers.

That's when Claude Giroux staked his claim to the future leadership of the franchise on the opening shift of the first-round, series-clinching Game 6 against rival Pittsburgh on home ice, rocking Penguins captain Sidney Crosby with a hard check and then scoring the game's first goal only 32 seconds into an eventual 5-1 victory.

Mulligan of a disappointing lockout-shortened year and Giroux's freak off-
season golf mishap aside, the 2013-14 campaign appears to be one where it's
either all going to come together or it's all going to fall apart on South
Broad Street. One guess as to which side Chairman Ed Snider is banking on.
General manager Paul Holmgren is coming off his second playoff-less season in
his seven-plus years at the helm, but unlike the Summer of 2007, his
restocking effort has been restricted by a reduction in the salary cap. That
still didn't prevent him from pulling off one free-agent coup, however.

Head coach Peter Laviolette, meanwhile, is tasked with manipulating a roster
of young stars, young forward talent coming off disappointing sophomore
campaigns, a defense perhaps too old and too young at the same time and a
goaltending situation just as precarious as the infamous three-man carousel
from the 2011 playoffs.

Add to that the inclusion of not just Crosby, but Alex Ovechkin and ex-Flyer,
current Blue Jacket and reigning Vezina Trophy winner Sergei Bobrovsky to the
new, stacked Metropolitan Division, and you've got an 82-game battle ahead
without a net.

The tightrope has been laid out. Now it's time for the Orange and Black to
walk it.

FORWARDS - It wouldn't be early July without the Flyers coveting one or more
big names on the market, but Holmgren surprised some with the signing of Vinny
Lecavalier -- he of the largest contract buyout in NHL history -- and
surprised even more by openly admitting the former Tampa Bay captain wasn't on
the club's radar at the outset of free agency.

Lecavalier, 33, but with 14 years of quality NHL experience, is here to fill
the vacancy left by the bought-out Danny Briere, who landed in Montreal. He'll
need to do better than 32 points in 39 games to justify a $4.5M price tag per
season over his new 5-year deal.

The 2004 Cup champion's veteran presence will be needed as Sean Couturier,
Matt Read, Brayden Schenn are coming off injury-riddled and inconsistent
seasons, but the efforts of Wayne Simmonds (15G, 17A) and Jakub Voracek (team-
best 22G, 46 pts.), along with the charged up, rested and recovered Scott
Hartnell (37G in 11-12) and Max Talbot, should be able to prop up what was the
seventh-best offense in the East even with dozens of man-games lost to
injuries.

Voracek will be fine, as long as he confines his speed to the ice and not the
open roadways of the region.

Of course, none of this might come to fruition if prime-mover Giroux doesn't
heal quickly and completely from a sliced wrist tendon suffered in August, or
if the weight of a full season of the captaincy doesn't spur him to new
heights. He'll simply have to channel the memory of a breakout 93-point
campaign in 2011-12 to be as effective and indispensable as the franchise has
touted.

On the defensive side, more is expected of Couturier, who connected on a mere
43.9 percent of his faceoffs and was a minus-8 in 46 games. Retaining veteran
grinder Adam Hall from the end of last season will help greatly in the puck
possession game from the defensive zone forward. The 33-year-old posted an
amazing 56.2 percent efficiency in the circle last season for three clubs and
has been a solid presence to aid the back line throughout his 13-year NHL
career.

The only "battle" for a top-nine spot will be between last year's early call-
up Scott Laughton and Austrian Michael Raffl. The former went scoreless
through his five-game stint last January but impressed enough in juniors to
get the call to the AHL, while the latter has apparently impressed the brass
enough to get a longer look despite concerns that a smaller ice surface in
North America would cause trouble.

The largely-reformed Zac Rinaldo, Kris Newbury and Jay Rosehill will provide
extra grit and punch when necessary. It's also a virtual certainty that Jason
Akeson and Tye McGinn will be shuttled down from Adirondack to get some NHL
time up front.

DEFENSE - The specter of Chris Pronger still hangs in the air like late
October chill. He's still with the club in an advisory role, still not placed
on long-term injured reserve and still not pronounced himself retired.

Since Laviolette's overall system dictates the defense be able to pass, carry
and shoot the puck in all three zones, along with supporting and joining the
rush, it has required the goaltenders to be more on the ball than normal to
keep the puck away from the crease and out of the net. Without a Pronger-type
to sweep away players in front, the slot was more like a freeway than
minefield a season ago.

But with the presumed return of Andrej Meszaros, the possible permanent call-
up of 6-foot-6 Danish D-man Oliver Lauridsen and the potential upgrading of
Hal Gill's PTO status, the Flyers might have found solutions to problems ex-
goalie Ilya Bryzgalov was too cosmos-obsessed to notice.

Knowing that Kimmo Timonen's (29 pts. in 45G) time in North America is limited
and overall health a concern despite a contract extension, Holmgren pulled off
an expected move and sprang for ex-Islanders captain Mark Streit. Though 35
years old, the Swiss native only has eight years of NHL wear on the tires, and
will be expected to take some burden off his Finnish counterpart both
offensively -- as Matt Carle did before jumping to Tampa Bay on a lucrative
free-agent deal -- and defensively.

Other than that, play in their own end is full of question marks. Who will
make the roster/remain uninjured/prove his veteran value between Braydon
Coburn, Nik Grossmann, Luke Schenn, Bruno Gervais and Erik Gustafsson? Will
Matt Konan and Brandon Manning be dark-horses to take some playing time after
performing well in the AHL? Can Laviolette adjust his defensive philosophy
slightly towards safer play in the zone?

GOALTENDING - Salt and Pepper. Cream and Coffee. Ebony and Ivory. Whatever you
want to call it, there's a healthy competition in the Philadelphia crease this
season for two players again looking for new beginnings and a shot at being a
legitimate NHL starter.

Steve Mason arrived in Philly in a trade-deadline transaction with Columbus,
and went 4-2-0 in seven appearances down the stretch. Ray Emery returns
triumphant, following a 17-1-0 season where he backed up Corey Crawford for
the defending champion Chicago Blackhawks.

Each man has his caveats: Mason carries with him a reputation for shrinking
under pressure, while Emery is still dogged by concerns over serious hip
injuries which derailed his first Philly tenure and has prevented him from
being taken seriously as a No. 1 guy in the crease in Anaheim and Chicago.

But each man has his selling points: Mason the puck-handler who carries a chip
on his shoulder over ex-Flyer Sergei Bobrovsky stealing his job and Emery the
firebrand, new ring on his hand, who wants to make good on the 2009-10 season
he never got to finish as the No. 1 guy.

Here's the kicker: no matter who "wins," neither man will cost close to as
much as the failed Bryzgalov experiment from the last two years.

Ultimately, success in the crease depends on Emery and Mason's ability to get
along, prove their worth and make the best of however Laviolette sees fit to
(mis)handle the situation.

WHEN ALL IS SAID AND DONE - Tasked with competing in the most talented
division in hockey, there will be many challenges ahead.

If things break correctly for the Flyers, they won't have to worry about
surviving the final weeks to gain a playoff berth and then rolling the dice.
If they don't, we may be talking coaching changes, a shift in power structure
in the front office, and sitting through a lame-duck April which precedes
another roster reshaping. A spot right in the thick of the Metropolitan and at
least one round with home-ice advantage is certainly within reach.

Whatever happens, the club won't commit the cardinal sin of making their fans
bored and apathetic. It's sure to be more entertaining than sitting around and
watching paint dry.